President Obama recently issued two Executive Orders designed to ensure that federal contractors maintain strict compliance with various labor-related laws and regulations if they wish to remain eligible for federal contracts.  Taken together, these Executive Orders place significant new compliance burdens on federal contractors.  Please see our attached article for an in-depth analysis of these requirements and our suggestions for proactive steps contractors can take to address them.

The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (No. 13673) creates a series of new reporting and evaluation requirements for federal contractors.  Contractors must collect, maintain, and disclose data on any violations of labor laws.  Agencies must appoint Labor Compliance Advisors to evaluate this data and coordinate their analysis with the contracting officer’s responsibility determination.  The order also creates new reporting requirements for employee pay and hour data and severely restricts employers’ ability to require binding arbitration for employee grievances based on sexual assault, harassment, or claims arising out of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  The order calls for rulemaking by the Department of Labor and proposed amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

The Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information Executive Order (No. 13665) targets prohibitions on discussing and disclosing information related to compensation.  The order aims to increase transparency within companies to detect and interdict compensation discrimination.  Under the proposed rule issued by the Department of Labor on September 15, 2014, agencies must include a new nondiscrimination provision in all contracts valued at more than $10,000.  With limited exceptions, contractors may not discriminate against an employee who inquires about or discloses compensation information.

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Photo of Susan B. Cassidy Susan B. Cassidy

Susan is co-chair of the firm’s Aerospace and Defense Industry Group and is a partner in the firm’s Government Contracts and Cybersecurity Practice Groups. She previously served as in-house counsel for two major defense contractors and advises a broad range of government contractors…

Susan is co-chair of the firm’s Aerospace and Defense Industry Group and is a partner in the firm’s Government Contracts and Cybersecurity Practice Groups. She previously served as in-house counsel for two major defense contractors and advises a broad range of government contractors on compliance with FAR and DFARS requirements, with a special expertise in supply chain, cybersecurity and FedRAMP requirements. She has an active investigations practice and advises contractors when faced with cyber incidents involving government information, as well as representing contractors facing allegations of cyber fraud under the False Claims Act. Susan relies on her expertise and experience with the Defense Department and the Intelligence Community to help her clients navigate the complex regulatory intersection of cybersecurity, national security, and government contracts. She is Chambers rated in both Government Contracts and Government Contracts Cybersecurity. In 2023, Chambers USA quoted sources stating that “Susan’s in-house experience coupled with her deep understanding of the regulatory requirements is the perfect balance to navigate legal and commercial matters.”

Her clients range from new entrants into the federal procurement market to well established defense contractors and she provides compliance advices across a broad spectrum of procurement issues. Susan consistently remains at the forefront of legislative and regulatory changes in the procurement area, and in 2018, the National Law Review selected her as a “Go-to Thought Leader” on the topic of Cybersecurity for Government Contractors.

In her work with global, national, and start-up contractors, Susan advises companies on all aspects of government supply chain issues including:

  • Government cybersecurity requirements, including the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), DFARS 7012, and NIST SP 800-171 requirements,
  • Evolving sourcing issues such as Section 889, counterfeit part requirements, Section 5949 and limitations on sourcing from China
  • Federal Acquisition Security Council (FASC) regulations and product exclusions,
  • Controlled unclassified information (CUI) obligations, and
  • M&A government cybersecurity due diligence.

Susan has an active internal investigations practice that assists clients when allegations of non-compliance arise with procurement requirements, such as in the following areas:

  • Procurement fraud and FAR mandatory disclosure requirements,
  • Cyber incidents and data spills involving sensitive government information,
  • Allegations of violations of national security requirements, and
  • Compliance with MIL-SPEC requirements, the Qualified Products List, and other sourcing obligations.

In addition to her counseling and investigatory practice, Susan has considerable litigation experience and has represented clients in bid protests, prime-subcontractor disputes, Administrative Procedure Act cases, and product liability litigation before federal courts, state courts, and administrative agencies.

Susan is a former Public Contract Law Procurement Division Co-Chair, former Co-Chair and current Vice-Chair of the ABA PCL Cybersecurity, Privacy and Emerging Technology Committee.

Prior to joining Covington, Susan served as in-house senior counsel at Northrop Grumman Corporation and Motorola Incorporated.